Richie Aprile, Adriana La Cerva, and now Vito Spatafore (Joseph R. Gannascoli): the writers have some fascination for killing off major characters in the penultimate episode of a season (in this case, Cold Stones counts as the penultimate show of the first part of Season Six). Maybe it's the pre-finale shock, or whatever the heck - it works a great deal.
After leaving New Hampshire, Vito returns, causing contradictory reactions: Tony is willing to leave him alone, whereas Phil demands blood and tricks Vito into coming to a meeting where he is beaten to death. This act is considered a rebellion against Tony's authority, which needs to be strengthened at home too: AJ has been canned from another job because he was caught stealing, and his father has to resort to threats to teach him some work ethics.
The Anthony subplot is admirable for how it establishes a new stage in the father-son relationship to build future plot threads on, but for obvious reasons the real driving force behind this episode's narrative is Vito's tragic demise. Ever since it was revealed in Season Five that the character was gay, it was relatively simple to imagine he wouldn't last forever, which is why Gannascoli was promoted to regular cast member in this season and got the chance to delve deeper into Vito's psychology, finding a more compelling role than the usual "queer gangster" caricature would have you believe and ensuring his final episode wouldn't leave viewers cold. And kudos to the director for choosing to not show us the full extent of the murder: it is already hard enough to watch as it is.
After leaving New Hampshire, Vito returns, causing contradictory reactions: Tony is willing to leave him alone, whereas Phil demands blood and tricks Vito into coming to a meeting where he is beaten to death. This act is considered a rebellion against Tony's authority, which needs to be strengthened at home too: AJ has been canned from another job because he was caught stealing, and his father has to resort to threats to teach him some work ethics.
The Anthony subplot is admirable for how it establishes a new stage in the father-son relationship to build future plot threads on, but for obvious reasons the real driving force behind this episode's narrative is Vito's tragic demise. Ever since it was revealed in Season Five that the character was gay, it was relatively simple to imagine he wouldn't last forever, which is why Gannascoli was promoted to regular cast member in this season and got the chance to delve deeper into Vito's psychology, finding a more compelling role than the usual "queer gangster" caricature would have you believe and ensuring his final episode wouldn't leave viewers cold. And kudos to the director for choosing to not show us the full extent of the murder: it is already hard enough to watch as it is.